Melting Pot
by Jade Remi Nichols
Summary: After Kong Li discovers a girl that could rival him as a mage, he begins following her. But what he didn't expect was for her to meet his son! Takes place some time after Origins. Sue and Barney, Tobey and OC, Sid and...? Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

I meant to add this earlier... But this is just a basic story, supposed to be over a few episodes, you know? Anyway, this is after Origins [obviously]. I kinda expanded on the magic a bit, but I tried to keep it true to the show! I also tried to keep the characters basically the same. I know, I should have more of Mr. Wu in here, but I dunno, it just doesn't work out that way! Heh. Chapter four is/is going to be the one with most of the action in it, so sorry if that's what you were looking for! I'm keeping the romance a bit toned down, but its definitely there! It's more of a bonding between the characters over similar situations, but there's some Tobey and OC action, and some undertones of Sid and OC... but don't worry. I think the end of the story is going to a lot different! I won't reveal it yet, but send me your suggestions! Pleasssse read and review. I'm open to opinions and critiques! And check out some of the other stuff I'm gonna post too ^^ Avatar, anyone?

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Chapter One

It was one of those days; Friday night and nothing at all to do, because she had no life. Well, she figured, what's wrong with a walk? Maybe she'd get lucky and stumble upon a life.

A few hours had passed since the end of the school week, and she wasn't sad about it. She saw it as such a waste of time, especially when she had tons of thing she'd rather be doing. Like... Lost for anything she'd rather be doing, besides heading to the arcade, she sighed, running a hand through her uneven hair. She needed a past time.

She stopped on the sidewalk, eyes looking up at the sky, looking for the first star to appear. In a few weeks it would be summer break, so the days had been getting longer. Dusk was just now approaching. Even being about at night in Chinatown was better than being at home. No doubt her father had gotten home soon after she abandoned her finished homework, and was already drunk. It was the norm; and the fighting with her mother soon after. That wasn't every night, but it seemed like it. Some days she heard her mother in the small bathroom, water running and the door locked, crying. She could hardly stand it, and her daughter couldn't either.

She wasn't stupid; she knew the only reason they stayed together was because of her. But she was almost done with school, about to go out on her own, and she hoped that her mother would step up then and leave him, finally. Whenever she spoke with her mother about it, her mother just shook her head on top of her skinny frame, terrified at the thought of leaving him, and terrified at his reaction. Which was reasonable. He was pretty scary when he was drunk, though she had only seen him hit her mother once, when they were fighting. He's better than most of his kind.

"Hey, watch out!" A voice called, and a quick glance around and she was up against the wall of the building she had stopped next to, and a bike went whizzing by, doing a wheelie. The boy spun around and came to a stop, a bag swinging dangerously from his handlebars. "Sorry!"

"For what? No one's hurt," she called in reply. The boy put a hand on his chin in a contemplating and amusing manner.

"True. Did you see that trick though! I was like _woosh!_" He exxagerated with his hands, and she giggled despite herself. "Hey, you go to the high school right? Lily isn't it?"

"Um that's right," Lily said, walking a bit closer, trying to decide if she knew this boy as well. "How did you know?"

"Your hair," he said simply, pointing at their identical bangs, except hers were dyed red, and his were blonde. "We match!"

Lily laughed again. "I never noticed! Who might you be?"

"Tobey." Ah, that's right, she realised. She had seen him and his siblings before. He started walking his bike, glancing back at her, and she came to the otherside, getting the hint. "So... Lily."

"Tobey?" She said, raising her eyebrows.

A ringing interrupted him, and he pulled out his phone with one hand. "Oh, wow, really? Okay Sue, be right there." He closed it and turns back to Lily, looking awkward. "I uh have to go. Mind delivering this for me?" He handed her the bag with an address on it, smiled, and hopped on his bike, zooming off down the street and around the corner.

Lily sighed heavily and looked at the address. Well, it was just around the corner. She had forgotten they worked at Wu's Garden, one of the Chinese restaurants here in Chinatown. Well, maybe she could get a job there, since she now had an in, and she was doing that boy Tobey a favor. Maybe. It would be a good excuse to get out of the house, to be sure.

After delivering the food to an inquistive and cautious Mr. Wong, she took the money back to Wu's Garden, where the three teenagers weren't back yet. "Um," she said, standing at the counter, and after a brief spout of yelling, she was greeted by a guy who was stirring rice. He just raised his eyebrows at her, and she handed over the money.

"Uh, did you order something?"

"No, I delivered an order for Tobey. Here's the money."

"You what?!" A deeper voice asked, and suddenly her vision was full of a large man, and the younger one moved out of the way. "He pawned off the order on—"

"No, its okay, really." She thrust the money at him. "I was actually wondering if I could work here." He took the money with narrowed eyes, counting it and handing her a few bills back.

"Oh, I see. Well, okay. You're not delivering though."

"Really Dad?" The younger man said, looking confused.

"Yeah, why not? Besides she can hold her own." He looked closely at Lily now, an eye narrowed. "Right?"

"Uh, right, Mr. Wu." She said quickly, doing a comical salute. He then promptly dissappeared, and she heard a exercise tape. "Uh.."

"Well, you can cook with me, I guess," the guy said, inclining his head to the kitchen. "I'm Barney, by the way. And you're...?"

"Lily," she said, helping by making rice and putting orders in their boxes. Two hours later the three return, looking much the worse for the wear. They all stop at spotting her in the kitchen, and Sue, the only girl, blushes as her eyes flick to Barney and then her again. "Uh, hey guys," she said, waving with a spoon in her hand.

"Oh cool, you're working here too now? Sweet!" Tobey said, grinning.

"Yeah. Mr. Wu wasn't too happy about—"

"You told him?" A yell from the back room cut off their conversation, and the three wince.

"Hahaha," Sid said, both him and Sue doubled over in laughter, and Tobey glared at him. "That's what you get! At least the order got delivered this time."

"TOBEY! Why did you pawn off your order on this girl?!" Mr. Wu demands to know, banging the door open from the back room. "Good thing she was trustworthy--!" He went on for a minute, then sentencing him to scrubbing the tile in the dining room.

"So," Sid said, leaning on one counter, while his sister leaned on the one on the other side of Lily. "Gonna do that for him again?"

"I hadn't meant to do it this time," she said, tasting a piece of rice. "Where did you guys have to go in such a hurry?"

"Oh, you know, just stuff," Sue said quickly, and the two quickly dissappeared upstairs.

"They're always like that," Barney assured her, handing her a pot to put in an order. "But they're family, y'know?"

"They are?" She said, eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, yeah. Nana adopted them years ago."

"Oh, I didn't know that," she said, contemplating the situation. An hour later, Tobey returned to the kitchen, sitting down at the table with a sigh.

"Hey, thanks Lily, but next time keep it to yourself, k?" He came up and put an arm around her shoulder. She looked at him with a glare as she went about her work. "What?"

"If I had, I wouldn't be working here!"

"Oh, right."

"Tobey, where is Sue and Sid?" An elderly woman asked, and Lily assumed that this is their Nana.

"They're upstairs," Lily answered before Tobey, and the woman looked at her.

"Oh, thank you," she said, inclining her head towards Tobey, and they head upstairs to get the siblings.

"Deliveries!" Mr. Wu bellowed up the stairs a few seconds later, and it made Lily jump. "Now you three!"

Tobey slid down the banister with a grin, grabbing a few of the bags, and Sue and Sid followed quickly after, and their Nana came down the stairs after a minute. "Calvin, who is this?"

"Oh, this is Lily Nana," Barney answered.

"Um, nice to meet you," Lily said, turning to look over her shoulder at her.

"You know Tobey?" Lily's eyes brighten.

"That's right. He almost ran me over with his bike earlier, and from school as well. Kinda." She shrugged. "I know the others by sight only, never really spoken with any of them."

"I see," she said mysteriously, sitting down at the table and watching her work.

"Can I get you something to eat?" She wondered, uneasy with the woman's eyes on her.

"No, no thank you. I'll be in the garden." She got up and went through the back door. Lily just caught a glance of the garden before she had to return her attention to her rice.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"I dunno," Barney answered, adjusting his baseball cap. Sighing, Lily helped him clean up for the night, then sat down at the table, not wanting to go home. "Here," he said suddenly, handing her a timecard. "I wrote down your hours, so just write down your name at the top. You can work tomorrow, too right?"

"Yeah, anytime you need me," she said gratefully, writing her short name on the card and handing it back to him.

"Cool, just come here around, I dunno, 9, k?" She nodded, but didn't get up or indicate she was going to head home. When the three returned from their deliveries, though, she couldn't delay it any longer. She got up and said a swift goodbye, but Tobey caught up with her after he had a quick word with his friends.

"Wanna ride? You shouldn't be walking around alone at night." Wondering about his concern, she nodded, and he handed her Sue's helmet, taking his own and getting on his bike, showing her how to hold on to his shoulders while standing on the pegs. Terrified, she warned him not to do any tricks. He nodded, amazingly not joking, and they set off for her house, once she gave him the street address.

"Uh-oh," he said as he heard sirens in the distance, and a second later his phone rang. He pulled to the road and answered it. Lily climbed down to the road, crouching and relishing in the solid ground. She looked up at him when his voice got unreasonably high, and he was looking at her, worried. He hung up, indicating she was to get back on the bike. He turned around without an explanation, heading back to Wu's Garden.

"Wait, what are you doing? Take me home!"

"Lily, no. There's nothing there. They'll all explain it to you when we get back." She couldn't help it, she let go of his shoulders, and he stopped quickly, looking at her where she lay on the pavement. "Com'on," he said, offering her his arm, his tone still uncharestically serious, which worried her more than the fact that her house wasn't there anymore. That means her parents too-- She took his arm and hugged him. He didn't seem to be too surprised, but after a minute he silently got back on his bike, and she followed suit, following him into the restaurant blankly. He led her to one of the booths, where Sid, Sue and their Nana were all sitting, and her and Tobey joined them.

"Someone set fire to your home. It took out half of the block."

"That's not a normal fire," Tobey said. "It's like some kind of super fire!"

"Exactly," their Nana said, raising her eyebrows. "It was a recipe, I'm sure of it."

"You think it was coincidence, Nana?" Sue asked, leaning forward worriedly.

"No, Sue, I think it was Kong Li." She answered, and Tobey's arm somehow made it around Lily's shoulders, his hand tightening on her shoulder.

"He saw us," Tobey said, anger in his voice.

"I can only assume so. He would have assumed she went home after."

"Wait, what?" Lily asked, confused. They all just shook their heads.

"What I don't get is why he didn't try to get to her first."

"Maybe this is his way, right?"

"Ai-ya, this is horrible," Sid said, head in his hands.

She banged her hand on the table. "No, don't do that. Tell me. I need to know; apparently this has something to do with me, so tell me!" They all exchange a long look, but their Nana nods, getting up and heading to the back door to the garden, and the others follow, and Tobey pulls her out there too.

Their Nana is sitting on a stone, a large book on her lap. The strange group sat down on other rocks and in the grass, and the old woman takes a deep breath. "This is a magic cookbook. It contains recipes from my old master, which we are still collecting. Kong Li—"

"You mentioned him before," Lily said. She nodded.

"Yes. We were students of the same master, but he's evil."

"Yeah, he's not very nice. If left to his own devices, he'll take over the world, literally," Sue said.

"I set up a forcefield to contain his magic and him within Chinatown, but he's still trying to find a way to break it down. I have ways to do so in the Cookbook, which is why we protect it."

"So, this... erm, Cookbook," she said, finding everything a little surreal. It seemed so silly. "It has powerful enough spells—recipes, that it could burn down half a block?"

"Yes, and there's a lot worse out there. I don't have that particular recipe, though, so he must."

"There's more," Lily prompts after a minute. They all look at Tobey, who sat next to Lily, and so she does as well, raising her eyebrows.

"Kong Li—he's my father," he said in a whisper, hiding his face from the rest of the group, his arms wrapped around his legs.

"Oh," Lily said thoughfully. She thought about the information earlier with this new information, but she still didn't understand fully. "So, he wants to turn you evil?"

"We don't know his intentions," their Nana said, running a hand over the Magic Cookbook fondly. "But yes, he might have thought that you—if you were in you house at the time, it might have made Tobey mad enough that he would have turned to other methods to gain revenge, something Kong Li would have used to his advantage, to manipulate him."

Lily put a hand on Tobey's arm, in an attempt to comfort him. It was strange; her family was probably dead, but she was the one doing the comforting. No, there was no probability, she realised, her face falling. There was no way they could have survived that. No one could have. "So, you guys try to take back the recipes before him."

"Right, we end up in more fights with the strangest things—" Sid grumbled. "Though Kong Li is bad enough by himself."

"Though not all of the recipes are his handiwork," Sue said, a little more peppier than she should be, perhaps realising that Lily doesn't like Barney. "Some are just people who find the recipes and decide to try them. Usually the recipes look like any other recipe."

"Except they glow once someone's made it," Tobey said.

"Yeah you think that would tip people off," Sid said sarcastically, and Lily smiled despite herself.

"This one time I was a Nian! I was all _rawwwwwwwr_!" Tobey said, imitating the Nian's howl and growl perfectly. He got on his hands and knees and leaned back his head, howling eerily.

Sue laughed. "And before that you were a puppy, remember?"

"Oh yeah that was fun! You know those toys are a lot more fun at their level! You guys should try it some time!"

"Lily, perhaps you should start training with Sue, Sid and Tobey. I'm sure they would be more than happy to teach you some basics."

"What, like, fighting?" She asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Well, yeah," Tobey said, sounding more excited by the minute. "You guys should have seen her reflexes earlier! Like a second after I called out to her she was out of the way! Amazing!"

"Yes, Nana's been teaching us Kung Fu," Sue said, ultimately ignoring Tobey. He shot her a glare. "It's really quite useful, when you see the things we do."

"Actually, can I talk to Lily alone for a few minutes?" Their Nana asked, and with a long look the three others left to go back into the restaurant. "I know its been a hard day. But I have to wonder why Kong Li would come after you in that way," she said once they were alone.

"You mean, something other than Tobey?" The woman nodded. "Like...?"

"He might see you as a threat," she said, chin on her fist, elbow on the cookbook, looking at Lily with interest. "I noticed it some earlier, before I knew the connection. Sue has some of the natural aptitude for magic, but I think you have more. Perhaps with training you could come to rival Kong Li."

"That's what he is so afraid of."

"I think so. He might have spotted it when he saw you earlier. He could have been following you and not Tobey, and it was just a coincidence. Whatever it is, all our destinies are now intertwined."

"And when social services comes?"

"Yes, I was thinking of taking you in as a foster child for now. Is that alright?"

"Oh my goodness, yes!" She crossed the short space and hugged the older woman. "Thank you!"

The woman smiled. "You're welcome. I don't think anyone should have to go through what you're going through, and live in a strange house." She looked up at their house above the restaurant. "We have a guest room, and you can stay there for now. Just ask someone where it is."

"Thank you!" She paused from her turn to go back into the restaurant. "Um, what should I call you?"

"You can call me Mai Hua, or Nana if you prefer." Lily bowed lightly.

"Thank you, Nana." She nodded as the girl dissappeared into the restaurant to seach for Sue. She found Tobey instead, waiting for her in the kitchen. "Hey."

"Hi," he said, a little awkwardly. "So... you don't take who my father is against me?"

"As long as you don't take who my father is against me," Lily replied lightly, eyebrows raised. "He wasn't the nicest guy."

He smiled wryly. "Hey, we match again!" He said with a laugh, then showed her up the stairs.

"Nana said there was a guest room—"

"Oh, right," he said, blinking and leading her down the hall a ways to a wooden door, opening it to reveal a simple room. "I'm sure tomorrow you can go shopping—buy clothes and stuff." He swept his bangs back. "But if you want to borrow some of my clothes for tomorrow—"

"Maybe just a new shirt," she said, looking down at her own red one, which was stained from her day's work. Her shorts had fared better.

"Sure! Hey, make yourself at home, I'll be right back." He left swiftly, and she looked around the small room. Against the wall and under the one window was the twin bed. At the end of that and against the wall was the dresser, with a mirror and a few small decorative figurines on top. Against the wall with the door sat a desk with a chair to go with it. She pulled open the drawers and found paper, pens and pencils. Next to the desk was a bookcase with a number of books both in Chinese and English, and next to the bed was the night table, with a simple clock/radio combo on top of it. Cosy, she decided. Very clean, she amended, wondering how long it would stay like that.

While setting the radio's station, Tobey comes back in with a short knock, placing in her arms two of his shirts. They're just simple a-shirts, but they were worn and well loved. She thanked him warmly, placing the two items in the top drawer of the dresser while he watched.

"What did Nana want to talk to you about?" He asked after a few seconds.

"Just about training, really. And about the family situation."

"You don't seem too broken up about it," he commented, and she side-glanced at him.

"When have I had time to be broken up about it?" She asked somewhat bitterly, sitting down against the bed, leaning her head back on it. "Besides, I'm never one to wear my feelings out on my sleeves."

"Yeah, I've been noticing that," he said. "So, is Nana going to adopt you?"

"Um, she said she was going to foster me for now. Which is good."

"Yeah. Well, I'm here if you ever want to talk about it. Just like Sid and Sue. We're all in this boat together now." He squeezed her shoulder tightly with a hand and gave her a wild grin. "We have to get you a bike too! You know how to ride right?"

"Yeah I did, once," she said.

"Well its not something you really forget, right? Maybe Mr. Wu will let me off tomorrow to help you shop!"

"It would be nice to have a companion. But I would think Sue—"

"What? No, it has to be me!" He grinned at her again, and she got the feeling that Nana had assigned him as her bodyguard. Maybe he was just being nice, friendly, kinda flirty, too.

"Yes, well, alright," she said, akward feeling again despite the easiness of being in his company. She was _too_ aware of him. The words from earlier spun around in her head as they said good night amiably and she took off her shoes and climbed in the bed, clicked off the lamp and stared into the darkness. _Everyone_ could see there was something between them, and she wasn't sure if she was comfortable with that. Even Kong Li saw it. Maybe. She frowned at herself and rolled to her side, shutting her eyes tight and focusing on her breath like she often did to drown out the sound of her parent's fighting—

And the mention of her parents, here, alone, in her thoughts and this dark room, brought on a whole new wave of emotion. She could hardly believe it. She knew—heard—it was like this for a while. Disbelief, denial, then the real recovery. She had her protectiveness over her emotions on her side, at least. She had so much practice, it would take little effort to conceal this, she reasoned. A little more than her day to day, maybe, but if she took the night to mourn, she should be alright come morning.

She turned to her other side, shutting her eyes tight again, trying to ignore the tears that wet her pillow, but failing.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Barney made them breakfast the next morning, which the others assured Lily was better than Mr. Wu doing the same. They had the morning free, which Sid and Sue decided to spend on homework. After a quick word with Nana, Lily gets her money and the money that the woman gives her to buy some clothes and maybe a bike, if they were lucky. She thinks that wearing Tobey's shirt helped her cause a bit with the family, and after breakfast Lily and Tobey head to one of the many clothes shops in Chinatown. After two such shops, she asked if there was a consignment shop, or a thrift store.

"Yeah, of course," he said, walking with her along the road, and pointing in a complicated manner around a few corners. "Right, then that way, then a left, and its right there!" She laughed, and he did as well, grinning. "I didn't think you to be that type of girl."

"What's wrong with getting cute clothes at a cheap price?" She wondered, and he grinned again.

"No, nothing," he assured her.

"Wait, what do you mean, 'that type of girl'?"

"Well, I figured you weren't prissy, which is good, mind. All I was sayin'." He shrugs and starts to whistle.

She shook her head with a laugh. "You're so silly!" She said, thanking him when he opened the door to the shop for her.

"Yeah, I know," he said, and stood by her as she flipped through clothes racks for things to try on, eventually getting a pile over her arm and then disappearing into the changing room, making sure everything fit. She went for just comfortable things—t-shirts, tank tops, shorts, and jeans. She had snuck in a dress, which she found to be quite flattering when she tried it on. "Hey," he called through the door, and Lily, clothes off, blushed despite the wood separating them. "There's a bike here, pretty good condition."

"Oh great! We should get it!" She got dressed back in his shirt and her other clothes again, opening the door to see him leaning against the door frame.

"I was thinking the same thing," he admitted, holding up the orange tag inbetween his fingers with a smile. "Everything fit?"

"Just about," she said, putting back a few shirts and a pair of jeans that didn't flatter her. "Ready?"

"Yeah, and look!" He tugged on her arm and pulled her over to the counter. In the case were a number of old comic books and other objects, but he was lusting after the comics. "They have number 34 of Dragon Robot Warrior!"

"Is that... good?" She wondered, eyebrows furrowed, never having followed comics before. She peered at it through the case.

"Yeah! It's the one where—" he goes on for a minute, complete with sound effects and arm waving, and Lily smiled. "What?"

"Do you want it, Tobey?"

"Yeah, but I don't have enough," he whined, looking back at it.

"I'll cover the difference, if you want—" He hugged her fiercly around her neck, and she almost choked with surprise. "You're welcome," she managed to say.

"Oh, Lily, thank you!" She laughed, and they made their purchases. She had some left over, so she went in search of a new backpack. "Yeah, just think, you have all that homework to make up!" She wrinkled up her nose.

"All my teachers know I do my work. Hopefully they'll excuse me this time." She rolled her eyes. She was pushing her new bike and helmet, with the bag of clothes hanging from one handlebar. He was walking close beside her, hugging his new comic, and couldn't stop smiling. She bought a red backpack in the school supply store—along with some notebooks and small things like that. She returned to Tobey outside, and they walked the short way home to Wu's Garden in amiable silence. She locked the bike on the bike rack outside the restaurant, hanging her helmet from it like the others. Hers was shabby, rusty, but it would do. It was just a way from point a to point b, after all.

After putting her new clothes away, she tried to return the money to Nana, but the woman refused. "Keep it for anything else you might need. Like a hairbrush or something like that." Lily thanked her and returned to her room, setting her new school things on her desk neatly while Tobey laid on his stomach on her floor, reading his new comic. She joined him, laying beside him and watching him and half-heartedly reading the comic. He tried to explain it to her, but she told him not to bother with a laugh.

"I'll get you the first ones, so you can read it from the beginning," he said almost to himself, turning the page reverently. She laughed again and nudged him in the shoulder.

Lunch came, again made by Barney, and then it was time to work. She worked in the kitchen again, Barney trusting her with one of the simpler dishes, which she thought was a compliment. In the afternoon slow-time, Nana took the four of them into the garden to commence training.

She gave Lily a set of moves, basic but could be used to defend herself, to practice, and watched her carefully while she instructed the others. She would occasionally come over to correct a stance or to add another to the set. Sue and Sid finished, and Tobey came over to watch her, sitting on a rock while the others went inside. She stumbled, embarassed, not used to being watched with such intensity.

"Let's try some one-on-one," he suggested after a minute, a smile on his face.

"What, like—"

"Yeah!" He stood up, circling her in a fighting pose. She copied his movements. He made a strike at her neck and she ducked to the side quickly, using her agility to her advantage. He didn't lose a step, sweeping her feet from underneath her, a move she hadn't expected and thus couldn't avoid. She hit the ground hard and glared up at him, but he just grinned, offering a hand. She took it, and they repeated the excercise. This time she remembered to watch the subtle movements Nana had told her about, to anticipate his next move. She didn't fare much better, but she was laughing along with him. "Not bad for an hour of training," he admitted after about thirty minutes of the excercise. He leaned against one of the rocks, and she sat on another, out of breath. "Water?" He suggested, and she nodded, returning inside with him.

After work that night, Nana took Lily outside to give her her first magic lesson, something the older woman told the younger would become routine. They sat together and meditated for a time, Nana teaching her about chakras, and afterwards giving her a number of books to read, ranging from old sorcerers of middle ages to ancient Chinese times, to techniques, and a book that Nana thinks Kong Li has a copy of. Sue joined them after a while at Nana's request, talking of small things, recipes they could use and the like. Nana told Lily of her fortune cookies she was perfecting, among other things. After a couple of hours, Sue and Lily head up to bed, Sue trailing in after Lily to her room, taking a look around.

"You know, ever since he found out, he's had a hard time talking about it. He's been kinda—out of it."

"He hides it well," Lily said, knowing Sue referred to Tobey.

"He's really very mad that Kong Li would do this to you—to him." She paused, looking at the view out of the small window. "I think that Nana was right in saying that Tobey would have turned to some alternative methods to avenge you. He still might."

"But why? We barely know each other."

"You're a cute girl. You haven't escaped notice from the guys, trust me. And you're mysterious. Sid's kinda mad Tobey met you officially first."

"You're just glad I don't like Barney," Lily countered, and Sue blushed, looking at her a little sharply.

"Well, yeah. You noticed huh?" She looked back out at the lights out the window. "He doesn't know I exist. Well, he knows that I exist, because I work with him, but not as a woman. I'll probably be that girl he met always."

"I don't think so," Lily said, yawning and rubbing her eye. "I think you just shouldn't be so subtle about it. If you express interest you might be surprised."

"Yeah, maybe," Sue said doubtfully, but said a quiet good night and left, closing the door behind her. Lily was taking off her shoes when Tobey opened the door sneakily and closed it behind him.

"Hi!" He said cheerfully, sitting on the chair to the desk backwards, arms folded across the back and resting his chin on them. "You and Sue had a good chat huh?"

She lined up her shoes carefully, blushing and trying not to let him see. "Um yeah. I'm guessing you were eavesdropping."

"Yeah, maybe," he said vaguely, feinting aloofness. She just rolled her eyes, sitting down on the floor with one of her new books Nana had given her. "Woah, what are those?"

"Magic books," she said, smiling as he came to sit beside her, yanking the one in her hands from her and flipping through it. "Its all about how he can use the different recipes and the kinds of ingredients and meditating and stuff."

"You and Sue like that kind of stuff," he said, wrinkling up his nose and giving her back the book. "I have a natural talent for it," he said proudly.

"Would Sue and Sid agree?" Lily asked, flipping back to her page, not really paying attention to what she was reading.

"Well, no, not after that one time."

"What time?" She asked, eyebrows raised curiously. Surely any story he had to tell would be amusing.

"I mixed the ingredients wrong and made a living blob," he admitted, hanging his head. "It started growing on me too—er not literally," he amended with a laugh, telling her the full story. After they sat in silence for a few minutes, Lily re-reading a few characters over and over again, but smiling. "Sue was right, darn her," he said lightly. "I don't like talking about it."

"I understand. I wouldn't either," she said, closing the book and placing it and the others up on the bookshelf. She returned to him, sitting cross-legged in front of him.

"It's more than that though. He tricked me—and I won't forget that." She nodded, not knowing the full story, but understanding. "And I keep on thinking, 'what if I turn out just like him?'"

"Tobey," she said, reaching out to touch his shoulder, but surprised when he put a hand over hers. "You're nothing like him. I hardly know anything about him, but I know that. I'm sure he was never this nice, or as loving."

"Yeah, I guess," he said with a sniffle, and she frowned, using her free hand to lift up his chin. There were tears in his eyes.

"Tobey, I'm serious. And I know Sue and Sid have told you the same things, right?" He nodded. "So why be so sad? You're the happiest person I've ever known."

"You must've had some kind of life," he half-laughs, and she nods, pulling him into a hug. He clutched to her. "I'm sorry, I know it might seem silly I'm worried about the future when—" He cut off, clutching tighter.

"It's alright," she said softly in a monotone. The full weight of the situation hadn't hit her yet, but she was sure it would whenever social services showed up. "I wasn't terribly close to my parents."

"You aren't close with anyone," he said.

"Well, I hope I can change that. I'm just guarded is all. I have a large wall."

"Like the Great Wall?" She smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"And I've just started to climb it, huh?"

"You're nearly at the top," she amended, and he pulled away slightly to smile at her.

"Well, good! I was afraid I would have to sharpen my grappling hook!" He made a claw with his hand to demonstrate and she giggled at his random silliness before he tickled her, causing her to break out in laughter. "Oh, you're ticklish," he said evilly, "this is gonna be fun!"

She sat back up from where she had fallen from laughter, and grins. "You're too silly."

"I'm not always," he said with meaning and a sly smile, before Sid banged on the door, and they bid each other a good night. She called a good night to Sid as well, and he stuck his head in the doorway, smiling and saying the same before Tobey dragged him back to their room.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The next morning, instead of shopping, Lily went outside with the others and read her books while they practiced on their own. She joined them for strength excercises and stretches, and did a few of her own sets before turning again to her book about the days of old and the magicians and sorcerers. She found it fascinating, and this exercise of her rusty Chinese made it all the more interesting. There were a lot of older and less-used characters that she had to look up or use the context to figure out. But still, she went through the book quickly, having it half done by the time they were finished with their practice.

She helped Barney make the lunch. "So..." She said, glancing up at him where he worked beside her at the counter. She stirred the pot uneasily as he looked back. "Sue?" She mentally kills herself for her lack of tact, but listens for his answer.

"No, I'm Barney, remember?" He looked at her like she was crazy.

"I know who you are, I'm not an idiot," she said narrowing eyes at him. "I meant, you know Sue likes you?"

"I would hope so, we've been in the same house for a few years now." She shook her head at him, rolling her eyes and wondering if he was really that dense. A few minutes passed, him frowning at the ingredients he was chopping, before he looked at her, comprehension dawning on his face. "OH!"

Lily smiled, nodding. They said nothing more, as Sue came in with Sid and Tobey just then, but Barney smiled back at Lily. Tobey came up between them, stealing a carrot and putting an arm around Lily's shoulder. "What's this?" She just smiled wryly with a small wink that she made sure Sue couldn't see. "You're naughty," he whispered in her ear before crunching the carrot loudly in the same ear, and she laughed, nudging him away.

They all eat the lunch with smiles, Nana even joining them, and Mr. Wu as well. He complimented Lily on the cooking, but she blushed and told him it was mostly Barney's handiwork. Barney just shook his head with a smile. After lunch the calls started coming in, and after a while her and Barney were alone again. Busy, but alone.

"How did you know?"

"Honestly? A total stranger could see that." She blinked. "Which I am very near to."

"What? No you're not. You're like family now."

She laughs drily. "After a few days? Give it a while, Barney. In any case, she admitted it to me."

"Oh wow, really?" He handed her a pot to dump into the respective orders.

"Yeah," she said, doing as he bid without much thought anymore. "Does it bother you?"

"What, no, I had no idea!" He said, raising his hands up for a second in a mock surrender. "It's a bit of a shock."

"I imagine," she said in a low voice, but was happy. "Are you going to do anything about it?"

"Uh, well, maybe. What do you think?"

"I told her to not be so subtle, so see if she does anything first, right? If not, then, yeah, you should." He frowned and returned his full attention to his work. She had been taught how to answer the phones, so this was added to her duties. Seeing Tobey and the siblings between their deliveries was a good break in the monotone, but she began to see why Barney was always so spacey, and his father wasn't ever in the kitchen. After her shift and helping clean up, she gave a loud sigh, sitting down at the table and putting her cheek on the surface, her eyes closing. They hadn't even had a slow hour today, for training. It was nearly constant. She knew in a few minutes when the three returned from their last deliveries they would have training, and she sighed louder.

"Welcome to my world," Barney said, joining her at the table. He offered her a glass of juice and she accepted, watching as Sue and Sid entered, but no Tobey.

At her furrowed eyebrows, Sue smiled. "He wanted to stop at one of his disgusting food joints." As if on cue, her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out to see it was a text from Tobey. She smiled despite herself.

"Got food 4 2!" Sid took the phone from her before she knew it, and he made a swoony noise before Sue hit him aside the head, and Lily stole her phone back with a glare.

"Trust me, Lils, you're gonna wanna eat before he gets here—or maybe not, depending." He made a face and plugged his nose, and a look at Sue made Lily seriously worry.

"He's right. Most of what he gets is inedible." Barney nodded in agreement with a smile, not really paying attention to the conversation.

"I'll live," she assured them, getting up to wait by the bike rack for him. She checked her nails casually until she heard his bike's tires on the road and looked up to see him. He grinned at her, taking off his helmet and locking up his bike next to hers.

"I figured that you might want something besides Chinese—" he lifted a paper bag, slightly soggy, with a smile. "Burgers alright?"

"Sounds great," she said, relieved that it sounded completely edible. They sat down on the sidewalk, and he handed her a burger wrapped in foil, and she examined under the bun curiously, looking for anything odd.

"Honestly, I know how normal people eat," he said, almost whining, half a burger in his mouth. "They way Sid and Sue talk, they make it seem like I'm completely mental."

She smiled and agreed, eating the burger hungrily. He finished four in the time it took her to eat one, and she watched him with interest. He almost _inhaled_ them. She examined one of the ones in the queue, unwrapped but not eaten yet, and among sardines and jalapenos, there was the normal condiments, bacon, lettuce, tomato, lots of cheese, onions... She handed it to him with a smile and he laughed, taking it and eating that last one quickly too, burping as he finished. She made a burp to rival his, and he stared for a second before busting out into laughter, ruffling her hair playfully.

They then took turns shooting the wrappers into the trash can, only returning inside when Mr. Wu threatened to lock them outside. The four of them spent some time in Sid and Tobey's room before Sue and Lily retreat to Sue's next door. "He got you normal food, huh? He must really like you."

Lily chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. Any news on your front?" Sue sighed and shook her head.

"Worried about school tomorrow? No one will be around to protect you. From Kong Li or other students," she added.

"Yeah a little I guess. Good thing its almost over." Sue nodded in agreement. "I'm riding with you guys tomorrow, right?"

"I would hope so! How else would you get there?" She laughed and Lily joined in before saying a pleasant good night and returning to her room.

She sighed as she sank into her bed, kicking off her shoes without a care, eyes closing for a few minutes...

She wakes up a few minutes later to a swift knock on the door and Tobey coming in, locking the door behind him with a smile. She sat up and greeted him, interrupted by a yawn. "Are you that tired?" He asked, worried.

"I'll be fine," she assured him, watching as he joined her sitting on the bed.

"Alright. So tell me what was with Barney earlier."

"I told him that Sue likes him," she said simply with a shrug. He laughed and brought her into a side-hug.

"You truly are naughty. I thought that was it," he said, not letting her out of the hug. "And you didn't tell Sue you told him."

"Oh, no! She would be mad!" She said, eyes wide. "It took him a few minutes as it was to understand me, but he seemed quite pleased."

"You think...?"

"I think what?"

"They'll get together?"

"They should, right?" He nodded, and she nodded in return. "Right."

"And, um..." He looked up at the ceiling. She waited for him to finish a bit impatiently. "And us?"

She smiled widely. "I dunno. What do you think?" She asked in her most curious voice, and he looked a little down until he looked back at her and saw her smile. He grinned back.

"I think we should." She nodded in reply, and he clutched her close, face burrowed in her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair lightly, suppressing another yawn as to not to ruin the moment. "I'm sorry, I know you're tired." He pulled back and kissed her on her cheek, whispering a good night in her ear. He left, and she touched her cheek softly, giggling and laying back on her bed. His company had kept her mood up for a while, but now that he was gone, his aura of presence slowly faded and she felt her mood growing sour.

She sighed, shutting off her light and laying down in her bed much like the night before, curled tightly in a ball. Tomorrow was going to be hard; harder than she probably realised. It would be full of people—kids and teachers alike—expressing their condolences. She didn't want to think about it. She suddenly wished she had one of the three in her classes—but she was a year ahead of them. She scowled and turned to her other side.


	4. Chapter 4

This one's a bit longer than the others-- Um, I exaggerate. It's huge. I just wasn't sure where to stop... so I just kept on going! lol

In any case, I love this chapter. Lots of greeeeeat stuff in it :3 Enjoy!

I also decided that this takes place like a year like after origins? Maybe? I dunno, I kinda wrote that Barney isn't in school... erm... uh... well, look over that, k? lol.

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Chapter Four

"Lily," Nana said as Lily came down the stairs the next morning, her new bag over her shoulder. "These men are here to see you." Lily stopped at the bottom of the staircase, staring at the two men that nodded at her. Tobey and Sid stopped behind her, so she moved through the kitchen and into the dining room, sliding into the booth next to Nana. "We've been talking about you living here."

"You know about the fires?" One of the men, with a shaved head, asked, flipping through a file and looking up at her.

"Ah, yessir," she said quietly, averting her eyes.

"I'm sorry that this happened. It effected a lot of people, though the fire seemed to originate in your house." She nodded understanding. She had figured as much. "Mrs. Wu was just telling me that she has offered to take you in foster care, as next year you'll be an adult, so the process of adoption seems a bit unreasonable."

The other man frowned. "Do you know anything about the fire?"

"No, sir, I was here, working," she said quietly, looking up into his eyes, meeting his suspicious glare. "When I left my father hadn't even come home yet."

"I see. Well if you remember any suspicious activity, be sure to contact us, won't you?" He handed her a card, and she took it carefully, looking it over. She nodded. The other man cleared his throat to reclaim her attention.

"In any case, Mrs. Wu, if you will just fill out this, and you too, Miss Zhang," he said, handing them each a paper and a pen. "This is a simple matter, but it still has to be filled out."

"Sir," Lily said, looking up at the police officer when she finished with the paperwork. "Is there... anything left?"

"No," he said, shaking his head wearily. "Half of the block was melted to the ground before the firefighters could put it out."

"Melted?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes, its very strange. But we're still investigating. If we find anything else out, we'll be sure to let you know." She gave him her new cell phone number, as she had been added to the Wu's plan, so he could tell her if anything came up. Their business done, the men leave, and Lily hugged Nana tight.

"Thank you, Nana," she said warmly with a smile before going back to the kitchen to eat her waiting breakfast. She sat inbetween Sue and Tobey and they ate in near silence. She finished last, and then they headed out to their bikes, strapping on their helmets in an almost eerie line, one after the other. She climbed onto her bike, her eyebrows furrowed as she fought to remember. She followed the others with her eyes, looking at their feet, and put one foot on its pedal, pushing the bike forward a little bit.

"Com'on!" Sid called, getting bored. "We'll be late." Lily just nodded and tried again, pedaling a little more now, wobbily, before it suddenly clicked and she remembered, her muscles remembered the movements of when she was little.

"Give me a break; its been years!" She complained, tongue in her teeth as she started to ride, a bit slower than the others, but they still made it to the school in good time. They locked their bikes up and headed inside together. She started to head to her first class, saying a 'see you later,' but Sid joined her.

"My class is right near yours," he explained, but she knew why they didn't want her alone. She was more certain than ever that Nana had given them instructions to protect her. Well, once she got good enough she wouldn't need protecting anymore. "Don't let anyone get to you, alright? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah, if it hadn't been for Tobey, I wouldn't be here," she said, looking down and adjusting her bag over her shoulder. "I mean that in a good way, of course. I would have gone home."

"Yeah, I know," he said curiously. "In any case, with finals coming up you and everyone else will have plenty to keep occupied with."

"True," she said, happy it was almost the end of the year. They came to her classroom, and she bid him a farewell, turning into the room.

In every class before lunch, the teachers seemed surprised that she had shown up, a fact that she tried very hard to ignore. She kept her head down as usual, thankful when lunch came and she got to sit with her new friends. Her only friends, really. One of the three had walked with her to each class, which she didn't mind. It made it go faster, but she was glad when Tobey was there to walk with her to lunch.

His aura of happiness instantly cheered her up, only strengthened when he put an arm over her shoulders and kissed her cheek as they walked through the hallway. She smiled at him, thanking him in a small voice. He filled her ear with stories of pranks from the week before, making her laugh, especially when they involved Sid or Mr. Wu. They joined the other two, Sue texting under the table. Sid looked kinda bored, but was looking over at Tiffany Cho's table as he spun his noodles aimlessly around his chopsticks.

Tobey wasted no time looking over Sue's shoulder, giving Lily a sly grin and a thumbs up. Lily sat next to Sue, looking for herself. "Nosy!" Sue complained, turning over her phone in her lap with a frown, looking up at Tobey.

"Who were you texting, hmm?" Tobey wondered, making a snatch at the phone, though he already knew.

"Yeah, Mai-Mai, it wasn't Barney was it?"

"No!" She said defensively, pushing Tobey out of reach, and he sat with a smile next to Sid, pulling out a large lunch bag and devouring the contents in record time. Barney had made Lily a lunch as well: it was her favorite, orange chicken and rice. She ate it slowly, well, compared to Tobey, who eyed her food. She frowned and put her arm protectively around it, eating quicker. He laughed, and returned to the light conversation, mostly about their classes.

"Sue, was it Barney?" Lily asked as Sue walked her to her next class. Sue bit her lip for a minute, contemplating telling the other girl, then nodded with a smile.

"Yes! He texted me earlier, look!" She flipped through a few texts and shoved the phone in Lily's face. He had texted her 'have a good day,' and then she texted something back, and he made a very happy ':D' face. "Oh, and look!" She flipped through a few more, showing her the latest. 'Ill be waiting after u get out of school. Running errands early.' Sue actually squealed in excitement, hugging Lily before she left for her own class, and Lily laughed and shook her head, admiring her handiwork and texting Tobey with the news.

Sid greeted her after, holding up his phone in her face. She frowned and took his wrist, holding it at a reasonable distance so she could read it. 'sue and barney!' it read, and she knew it was from Tobey.

"Okay?" She released his wrist and he took back his phone, frowning at it.

"He's not good enough for her," he said, a little angrily, flipping the phone closed with a snap.

"Come on, you can't protect her forever," she told him with a roll of her eyes. "It was bound to happen. You guys aren't kids."

"I know," he said with a frown. "I just wish I could hold it off a bit longer."

"You don't want her hurt," she assumed.

"Do you know awkward it will be, for all of us, if they end badly?" He asked her, and she furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. She hadn't considered it. "And he's bound to notice that we sometimes disappear, now that he has a reason to pay attention." She blushed, not fully realising the weight of what she had done. "Like you, and Tobey, that's okay because we're all in this together. But I know first hand trying to get a date and protecting Chinatown."

"Cho?" She asked simply, and he grunted and nodded. She could understand his frustration. She couldn't imagine trying to keep such a large secret from someone she was dating. It would ruin all the trust. She didn't have to worry about it, but she could feel the frustration radiating out in waves off of Sid, and it made her worry.

After school, the four ride back to the restaurant, and Nana called them out back for some training. She sets Lily and Sid together, so that he can teach her rolls and jumps, and she tried her best to master the techniques as quickly as possible. "It's not something you learn in one day," he scolds her as she falls from the wall for the third time.

"I know, but I want it to be," she complained, trying again to imitate his flip off the wall. She lands on her back, hard, and she sighed, feeling insignificant.

"It's okay," he said, helping her up. "It's important, but don't push yourself. Let's try something else." They did a quick one-on-one fight, and she swept his feet from under him, like Tobey had done to her. He frowned. "You're quick." She offered him a hand up but he refused, jumping to his feet. She used some of the blocks she had been taught, but its a struggle. He was strong, stronger than Tobey, though she thought that Tobey had been holding back a bit. He got her down three times before Sue stepped in, and Lily and her circled each other. They didn't know that she was learning the moves they were using on her, and used a move Sid had on her: a quick strike to distract, then pinned her to the ground by twisting one of her arms up to her back. Sue called out in surprise as she felt Lily's knee on her back.

"You are fast!" Sue said, sitting up when Lily let her up. She brushed off dirt from her white shirt, eyebrows furrowed.

"If that's all I got on my side, then I'll take it," Lily said, sitting down on one of the benches. Nana nodded.

"It seems to work to your advantage. No one can follow your movements."

"Yeah, its like a snake," Sid said, leaning against the wall.

"Is she going to study Snake Style first, Nana?" Tobey asked hopefully. Nana smiled at him.

"That might be wise."

"Sweet!" He said, punching the air above his head and coming to sit beside Lily.

"Woah, look!" Sue said, pointing over the wall a while later, pointing at a smoke stack.

"Another fire?" Lily wondered, worried.

"You three go investigate," Nana said quickly, and after a brief hesitation Sue, Sid and Tobey leave the back way, heading towards it. "Let's go inside," she suggested casually. "Let's see if we can find anything on this recipe." Lily just nodded and followed her into the restaurant. They sat down at the table with old books and flipped through them, both frowning.

"Lillllly!" Barney called from the front, peeking his head around. "Oh, there you are! Can you help?"

"Oh, uh, sure," she said, looking up from her book and going to wash up and help cook. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she answered it, saying her name quickly and informally.

"We may have a problem," Sid said, wind whistling by the speaker. He was riding his bike, or running. "I got the recipe, but he got Tobey—"

"He what?!" She exclaimed, returning her attention to her pan with difficulty so the food wouldn't burn. She turned to Nana, and they exchanged a worried look.

"It's a trap," Sue said, now in a conference call. "He wants you to go, Lily. He wants you in his control."

"Who cares? We have to get him back!" When Nana makes a move with her hand, Lily tosses her the phone, and the older woman catches it deftly, speaking quickly and quietly.

"There's no help for it. She has to come with you two." There was a pause. "I'll give her a few magic fortune cookies to help.... Yeah come back here." Nana tossed Lily the phone back, and Sid informed her they were just a minute away. She took off her apron quickly, apologising to Barney, accepting a small package and instructions from Nana before leaving for her bike, the other two already there.

"Lily, no matter what happens, don't do anything against your morals," Sid warned as they started off towards the edge of the town. Lily ground her teeth against anger and rage that boiled up inside of her, wanting to spew angry curses into the air. This wasn't fair. She couldn't be that important. No way she could mean this much to him—though she was a little too curious to finally meet Tobey's father.

As soon as Tobey was safe, she was going to give him a big kiss, she decided with a determined smile.

"GPS ends here—yeah look there's his bike!" Sue said, referring to her phone.

"You really think he would have rode his bike to wherever Kong Li took him?" Sid said, raising an eyebrow.

"It's all we have to go on—hey, look!" She pointed by his bike, picking up a note pinned under the tire. "It's coordinates," she said, putting them into her phone. "Warehouse district." They head off again, and Sue cleared her throat. "He'll be fine, Lils, really. Kong Li won't seriously harm him."

"I don't know if he's above that," Sid mumbled, and Sue shot him a glare. "What? You know what he's capable of."

"I do know," Sue said quietly, starting to pedal her bike faster, turning her bike dangerously around the corner, the two others behind her. They all come to an abrupt stop at a fence. "It's just on the other side, in that warehouse."

"How cliched," Sid said, but dropped his bike and scaled the fence, dropping to the other side. Sue made Lily go ahead of her, and Lily climbed the fence a little slower than Sid, never having done it before, hearing Sid's voice from earlier, telling her how to fall. She landed from the top of the fence in a roll, and Sue dropped beside her a second later. "Com'on!"

He kicked in the door, and the siblings came through the door first, on guard. Lily came after them, trying to imitate them to make it seem she knew what she was doing. She was mad, furious, worried, and she feared the worst, and that everyone could hear her heartbeat, but she definitely had no idea what she was doing. Her only contribution was the small package she had in her bag at her side. And, you know, the fact that Kong Li wanted to turn her evil or kill her.

"Ah, my favorite brats," a voice said, and their attention was brought from scanning the crates that surrounded the walls to up on the second floor, where a caped and hooded man sat in a crouch, a bright red staff the only colorful thing about him. "I should've known that you two would come."

"Where's Tobey?" Sid yelled up at him, his hands clenched in fists.

"Patience, patience," the man said, drawing back his hood. He was older, like Nana, but he didn't age nearly as well. It was hard to believe that he was Tobey's father, though she did see some resemblance in their jawline. "I think your new friend should join me up here first, don't you?" He twiddled a finger at Lily in the near-darkness. "Come now. No need for harm to come to my son, is there?"

"I want to see him," she said in a determined voice, her hand inside her bag casually. Kong Li's eyes narrow.

"He's up here, with me." Lily frowned and started walking to the stairs, but Sue caught her arm.

"Lily, no! He'll take you too!"

"I'll be fine, Sue." She gave the girl a smile, sly and mysterious. "We'll all get out of here alright." She slid her arm out of her grip and made her way over to the stairs again, only to be caught by Sid. "Sid."

"I'm coming with you," he told her firmly, and Sue followed close behind. They made it to the top of the stairs, and Kong Li was waiting, his eyes still narrowed. "Com'on, Kong Li, let's settle this!" The older man just smiled, slamming his staff into the metal under his feet, and the rest of the upper floor, mainly the part they were standing on, began to shake and shatter. Sue hit the ground below first with a yell, and Sid pushed Lily to the solid ground near Kong Li, but was slipping himself.

"Sid!" She said, her voice high-pitched, catching his hand. He greatly outweighted her, but somehow she hung on to him, her arms straining. She saw Kong Li out of the corner of her eye, coming behind her, and could almost _feel_ his presence. Glad she had read that part of the book already, she knew what he was trying to do. Mind control.

She closed her eyes tight, trying to keep half her attention on keeping Sid from falling and the other half on keeping Kong Li out of her mind. She twitched, not liking the feeling at all, wishing she had a hand free, then shook her head from the thought. That was his work. She couldn't let go of Sid. Kong Li's determination not to hurt her surprised her. He could have just pried her hand from Sid's, but instead he chose a more subtle method.

She ground her teeth, opening her chakras a bit too quickly, but it worked at keeping her focused. She pushed his mind from hers with much difficutly. He was strong, and she was still weak, untrained. Keeping him at bay still, she started backing up slowly until Sid could pull himself onto solid ground. Sue somehow got up, but was stuck helpless at the top of the stairs.

Kong Li slipped from her mind, perhaps giving up, but a second later she realised why. He had jumped most nimbly onto Sid, crushing his throat with the side of his forearm as he pushed him against the railing, which creaked dangerously. "SID!" Sue and Lily screamed at once, but he had no threat from Sue. He turned his head to point his staff at Lily with a wicked smile.

"Join me," he said, ignoring Sid clawing at his arm. Lily didn't answer, examining her options. "Now, you're powerful. Don't do anything foolish. Don't you want a proper training?"

_Yes, _she thought fiercely, than with a powerful move, one she attributed later to adrenaline, she tore the staff from his outstretched hand, and swung it around like a bat and it cracked against his skull. He fell down, unconcious, on Sid, who pushed him off with a disgusted cry and coughing. "Are you alright?" Lily asked Sid, helping him up.

"I'm fine! Find Tobey!" He gasped at her, and she nodded, standing up and thinking of where he would be.

"Tobey!" She yelled loudly, then listened intently. Something scurried across the floor to her, sitting down and looking up at her. "A rat!" She said, slowly walking backwards. It kept on looking at her, then started walking back towards the way it came, then stopped and looked back at her. Grinding her teeth, having watched enough TV to know she had to follow it, she did, finally finding a small cage, bending down to look inside of it. "Tobey?" She asked the rat inside of the cage, whose fur grew just over its eyes like his, even being that white-blonde. "Oh my god."

She instantly regretted her promise to herself. She wouldn't be kissing Tobey now that he was safe, she realised with a smile, just glad that he was.

"Don't be like that," the Tobey-rat said. "It's not like I asked for this!"

"I know," she replied, marveling at the fact that he could talk at all. "Let's get you home to Nana. She'll fix you up."

"What should we do about Kong Loser?" Sid asked in a loud voice.

"We could drag him back on our bikes," Sue said with a wicked smile. Both siblings stopped and stared as Lily appeared with the cage, opening it to let Tobey out onto her shoulder. He was frowning. Then they both bent over in laughter.

"Com'on guys, let's get Kong Li back before he wakes up," she said over their laughter, using the dragon staff to push Kong Li over the edge of the floor and onto the ground beneath. "What is she going to do to him?"

"Something magicky," Tobey said in her ear, and she smiled.

"Maybe she'll turn him into a rat," Sue said in a serious voice, climbing back down the stairs. Sid jumped to the ground, signaling for her to follow. Lily looked at him doubtfully, those twelve feet looking very scary, especially when Tobey's life was, literally, in her hands.

"You'll be fine. It's not that much farther than the fence," he called up, and she nodded. When she didn't move, he and Sue pushed some crates under where she stood, which broke the distance by half. Thanking them quietly, she lowered herself down on those crates and then jumped from there. She just didn't have that much confidence in her abilities yet. Wait, what abilities? She shook her head and picked up Kong Li's staff where it laid on the floor, a kind of energy running up through her hands. She shook her head again against the magic, her eyes clouding over, blacking out her vision.

"OW!" She said, her vision clearing as Tobey bites, hard, on her ear, bringing her attention back to the present. "Thanks," she says in a quieter voice as he lets go, settling back onto her shoulder contently and a bit smugly. Sid and Sue look at them with interest, eyeing her bleeding ear. She put a hand up to it with a slight blush. "Let's go."

"Er... right," Sid said, dragging Kong Li by his wrists without much care out to their bikes. "Let me call Nana..." He pulled out his phone while the others settled themselves on their bikes.

"You're not gonna fall off, are you?" Lily asked Tobey.

"Pssh, as if," he replied, clutching to her shirt tighter. She reached a hand to him and pet him absently. "Hey, stop it," he said without much determination behind his voice.

"I kinda like you like this," she said with a laugh, running a finger along his back.

"Don't get used to it," he muttered, while Sid told them that Nana was on her way to bring him back herself.

"She suggested that you two go back to Wu's," he told Lily and Tobey. "Don't worry, we'll get his bike on the way back."

"Alright, thanks," she said, feeling awkward as she starts pedaling back to the restaurant at her own pace, not feeling the pressure to go terribly fast. She hummed a light tune even as she locked up her bike outside and went into the restaurant, warning Tobey not to talk in front of Barney and Mr. Wu.

"I'm not that dumb," he told her, climbing up into her hair, blending in almost perfectly before she went inside.

"There you are! Where have you been?!" Mr. Wu asked, before shaking his head. "Nevermind! Where are the others? There's some deliveries—"

"I'll take them, Mr. Wu," she said, taking the bag he handed her. "The others should be back in a few," she told him before sprinting back out the door. Tobey-rat climbed back to her shoulder with a frown.

"Couldn't have left me there?" He whined, and she frowned at him as she strapped on her helmet.

"No! I wouldn't want Mr. Wu killing you on accident!" He sulked on her shoulder, hiding as she went to the doors, but otherwise keeping mostly quiet. Finally she sighed and frowned at him. "I'm sorry you're not fond of being a rat, but, honestly, nothing I can do about it."

"I know," he said. "At least being a dog was kinda cool. But he turned me into a _rat_!" Lily smiled, finding the whole situation rather amusing. She started back to Wu's, excited to have human-Tobey back, but kinda sad to not have him on her shoulder anymore. "You can't get much more insulting, as mammals go."

She laughed. "Its kinda a compliment. He saw you as such a threat that he had to turn you into something that couldn't cause much harm." He was quiet, contemplating this.

"I never thought of it that way."

"Of course not!" She grinned at him, almost running into a parked car in the process. She corrected herself quickly. A minute later she was locking up her bike again, heading inside, sliding in to a booth with Nana, Sue and Sid. "Hey," she said, and Tobey climbed down to the table, washing his face with his paws.

Nana leaned over to take a closer look, then laughed. "Sue and Sid told me, but its much more amusing in person."

"Nana!" Tobey said, pouting somehow. "Can you change me back?"

"I dunno..." She said, pointing to the book in front of her. "I will have to make a fresh batch of fortune cookies... You might be spending the night like that, Tobey."

"What?! No! I'll stay up until you get them done!"

She frowned, but nodded. "I'll go get started on them, then." She left for the kitchen, muttering to herself about ingredients.

"You, er, might want to get him upstairs before Mr. Wu catches sight of him," Sid said, pointing to Tobey. Tobey snapped at his finger, and Sid recoiled quickly. "I'm serious!"

"I know; thanks Sid," Lily said, scooping up Tobey-rat and carrying him, handing the small package back to Nana, and asking what she had done with Kong Li.

"Oh, yes, he's magically bound and tied up in my room, in case he wakes up soon. Quite impressive," she added with a smile. Saying a small thanks, Lily continued up the stairs, coming to her room and closing the door behind them.

"No, no! Let's go grab some food out of my room first." He scurried to the door, and she opened it, following him to the room he shared with Sid, and helping get some of the snacks he had stashed in his drawers and other various places around the room. Her arms full, she walks warily back to her room, and together they sit and munch.

A while later, they hear Sue yelling at Sid. "It's none of your business!" She screeches, slamming the door to her room. Lily and Tobey peek out the door to see Sid standing in front of Sue's door, furious.

"It is my business! Mai-mai!" He bangs on the door.

"No it isn't! I didn't object when you wanted to date Tiffany Cho!"

"You're my little sister! It's different!"

"Stay out of my business, Sid!" He looked away from the door angrily, and spot the pair eavesdropping.

"Yeah, well, I told you I didn't like it, didn't I, Lils?" He kicked the wall angrily and slammed the door to his room.

"He did?" Tobey asked, confused. She shut the door to her room again.

"That's right. He was mad because its hard for him to get a date. He said that because of the secrets we have to keep..."

"Right." He returned to his bag of chips, eating one hungrily. She wrinkled up her nose slightly.

"Even as a rat, you have a neverending stomach." He chuckled, and she laughed at hearing such a strange sound. "You are adorable!" She declared, scooping him up and cuddling him up to her cheek. He licked her cheek, making her blink in surprise, then laugh. "Oh, I'm gonna miss you like this!" Tobey-rat smiled a ratty smile and climbed up to settle into her hair.

"You're right. I could never sit on your head before!"

"Oh! Just don't poop in my hair!" She said, genuinely worried.

"Gross! Com'on, not even I would do that!" She laughed. "Hey, go into my room and I'll show you where those comics are." She agreed, heading to Sid and Tobey's room, knocking awkwardly. Sid let them in with a curious expression, watching the pair as she dug through his mess of a closet at his instruction, pulling out comics along the way.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she said, wrinkling her nose as she pulled out something moldy.

"Me either," Sid said, watching her from his bunk. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

She shrugged. "Not really. Besides reading the books Nana gave me... which turned out to come in handy tonight."

"Yeah, hey, thanks, by the way. That fall could've been bad."

"The fall? What about him choking you?!" She looked at him, alarmed, and he rubbed his throat in remembrance.

"Yeah, well, that too. I guess I owe you twice for tonight." She nodded, returning to her digging, blushing slightly.

"You guys know I can every word you're saying, right?" Tobey asked from inside a bag of candy he had found. He stuck his head out to look at them sternly. "Don't get any ideas, Sid."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't dream of it," Sid said with a roll of his eyes, but when Tobey returned to his bag, he gave Lily a smile. She furrowed her eyebrows and turned back to collecting comics, confused. What just happened?

"I'm gonna talk to Sue for a minute," she told them, slipping out the door and next door before they could object, knocking on Sue's door. Sue answered after a second, a hand holding up her hair. "Hey."

"Hey," she answered, allowing Lily to come in and shut the door behind her. Sue then let her hair down, and it fell just past her shoulders. She looked at it sadly before returning to putting it up. "What's up?"

"Just, er, making sure you're alright," Lily answered, and Sue looked at her in the mirror.

"I'm fine, just annoyed. Sid was threatening Barney and I caught him." She heaved a big sigh. "He had him pinned against the wall."

"He's just worried about you," Lily said calmly, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"I know, I mean, I know that. It's just...aggrevating. I mean, I can take care of myself!"

"He knows that. But he's your brother; he's always going to be protective." She paused. "He doesn't think Barney is good enough for you." At this Sue turned around and sat in front of the other girl.

"What?"

"Yeah; he told me that."

"But that's silly. Barney's great!" She smiled in such a convincing way that Lily smiled in return.

"Let him warm up to the idea," she suggested, fixing a stray strand of Sue's hair so it laid flat. "I actually... had a question for you."

"Shoot."

Lily looked down at her hands, going through a thousand different ways of saying what was on her mind. "I think Sid likes me," she said in a small voice, and Sue laughed in a small way.

"Of course he does. But if you and Tobey get together—then he won't try anything. He'll find someone else."

"Oh, okay. Just making sure I wasn't imagining anything."

"No, you're not. Plus, he's grateful for earlier. That might have made it worse." Sue gave her a half-hearted smile.

"Yeah, I got that feeling too."

"Look, don't feel bound to them. You don't have to date either!" She paused. "But if you hurt either one of them you'll have me to answer to!"

"Sue, if I choose one I'm bound to hurt the other. Besides, I'm already pretty settled on Tobey." She looked up at the girl. "I can't see your brother as any more than a friend, really. He seems to be a great one."

"He is," she agreed. "Still, might want to get back to the rat before he gets in trouble."

"True," Lily said with a frown, bidding Sue a goodbye and returning to the room next door.

"Is she alright?" Sid asked immediatly after her return. Lily nodded.

"Yeah, she's just annoyed by you. She told me what was happening—"

"I didn't want him getting smug!" Sid said defensively, standing up off his bottom bunk. "I've always liked him, but his hands on—"

"Dude, chill," Tobey said, climbing up Lily's leg and to her shoulder. She sat down and petted him absentmindedly. "No one's condemning you here."

"Right," Lily said with a small smile, "just telling you what happened."

"Yeah, sorry," Sid said, sliding down to the floor with them. He ran a hand down his face, then watched Lily pet Tobey. "Isn't that weird?"

She raised her eyebrows. "A little, but I'm getting used to it."

"And it feels good," Tobey said, enlongating the word and he nudged her hand again.

Sid smiled slightly. "Too bad Nana's changing him back tonight. You could've—" As if she had heard their conversation, Nana knocked on the door, calling to Tobey. He licked Lily's cheek before scurrying over to Nana and they head downstairs, Nana carrying a set of clothes for him. Suddenly Lily was left alone with Sid, and no quick way to escape. She cleared her throat slightly and picked up the stack of comics she had collected, organising them numerically. "Are you guys..." He trailed off, and Lily looked up at him, eyebrows raised. "Y'know, are you guys going out?"

"Oh," she said, looking down at the comic in her hands. "Um, not yet, as far as I know."

"Well, keep me updated, alright?" He asked, coming to sit beside her and helping her straighten out the comic's covers and arrange them. "He's like a brother to me."

"Not going to threaten me, are you?" She asked with a small laugh, and he smirked.

"If I feel the need to I will. Just be careful with him, alright? He's been through a lot." He stopped, looking at her. "I mean, so have you but—"

"I knew what you meant," she said, saving him from his hole. "There's no rush, is there? I'm here pretty much permanently." He nodded. "I've only known you guys for a few days after all—"

Tobey burst through the door then, crying a yell of glee and tackling her with a hug. She laughed and they fell over. "Glad to have you back to normal, Tobey."

"Glad to be back!" He said with a grin, looking down at her with a strange look in his eyes, then letting her up and hugging Sid.

"Ack, get off!" Sid said half-heartedly, smiling. Tobey then hooked an arm around each of their shoulders.

"What were you guys talking about, huh?"

"Er, you," Lily said with a small laugh.

"I knew it!" He said with a grin, scooping up the comics sloppily and leading Lily from the room. She said a quick and hasty goodbye as she was almost dragged from his room to hers. He locked the door behind them and set the comics in the center of her floor. He then sat down and pulled her down too, suddenly much more serious. "Was he bothering you?"

"What? No, of course not," she answered, taking his hand and twining her fingers through his.

"Are you sure?" He said, sounding worried. He caught her other hand and did the same, pulling her closer to in front of him. "Sid's great, and I mean if you—"

"Tobey," she said softly, looking him straight in his eyes. "He is great, but he's not you." She smiled at him, and he smiles genuinely back.

"You think I'm better than Sid?"

"No," she watched his smile fall in that split second. "You _are_ better than Sid. And everyone else, in my eyes."

"Even though—I mean, my past—" She shook her head.

"I don't care. I'll keep you in line if need be, but I won't need to. You're a great person." She touched her nose to his gently. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before reopening them.

"Are you sure...?" He came a little closer, his lips a breath from hers. She just nods quickly, closing that small gap between them and kissing him. He kissed her back after a second, releasing her hands to wrap his arms around her, and her hands fell to his legs and she didn't make to move them in a hurry.

He growled as Nana's voice came down the hall in a panic. But he kissed her again, and again, before releasing her and they go to open the door and see what was the matter. She bit her lip softly, trying to keep her mind at what was at hand. He glanced at her, then he was all business, running down the hall with her a step behind.

"Nana?" He called. She was back in her room—her hair was tousled and her face was furious.

"Tobey! Lily! He—" Nana's face was a ocean of emotion before she got herself under control again. "He's gotten away somehow. I don't know how, but I know he won't try anything again too quickly." She frowned and looked out of the broken window. "I don't understand it. I had a magic barrier on him."

"Nana, he's very powerful—its possible he worked on a way around it," Lily said, stepping into the room and examining the remnants of the rope. Tobey stepped over to Nana and led her to a chair.

"Yes, I suppose," Nana said, then looked up at Lily. "Tell me what happened."

Lily hesitated, then took a deep breath. "We got there, he told us that he had Tobey up there, Sid threatened him, but he asked for—for me to go up there. Sid and Sue come up as well. He cracks the second floor where we stood—right near the stairs you know? Sue fell, but she was alright. I caught Sid." Here she paused, knowing it was the first time Tobey had heard the story as well. She kept her eyes from his. "He's heavy, but I couldn't drop him. Kong Li tried to make me. He tried to get into my mind—I could feel him. But I remembered what I read, from the books that you gave me, Nana, and I could push him out. I pulled Sid up, but Kong Li jumped on him, choking him. By then Sue was on the top stair, but the jump was too far, she couldn't help. When I tried to help, he pointed that damned staff at me and—" She cut off, moving her head slightly to the side, not sure how to explain it. She could explain mind control and that kind of magic, but her strength that somehow overpowered this man? "I took it from his hands and knocked him out with it."

Tobey actually laughed, then covered up his mouth, but he was still laughing. Nana just smiled. "Sometimes the simplest techniques can be more effective than the most elaborate plan," she said, looking out the window again from her seat. "He's becoming more powerful. We'll have to keep up your training, Lily. In all aspects." She looked toward the door then. "Sue, and Sid? Where are they?"

"They fought; I doubt they'll want to see each other," Lily said.

"Yeah, when Sid's playing his guitar you can't hear much else," Tobey said jokingly, and Nana smiled. "What? It's true!"

"I know. Just make sure to inform them, alright?" They both nod, and they leave Nana's room, exchanging glances with each other sidelong—with a hint of a smile.

"I'll tell Sid. You tell Sue. Then go to your room—" She nodded in comprehension, he smiled, then dissappeared into his room. Lily knocked on Sue's door, and was let in. She told the girl quickly what had happened, making Sue frown.

"Nana's right. He _is_ getting stronger. They only thing for it is to get stronger ourselves." Lily nodded, yawning and saying goodnight. "Hey—" Lily turned back around, a question in her eyes. "Now that Tobey's not a rat—"

"I'll keep you updated," Lily replied with a small smile and a nod, retiring to her room.


End file.
